Battle of Markada

Last updated
Battle of Markada
Part of inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
Date21–31 March 2014
(1 week and 3 days)
Location
Markada, Syria
Result

ISIL victory

  • ISIL captures Markada on 29 March [1]
Belligerents
Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg al-Nusra Front

Islamic State flag.svg Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Islamic State flag.svg Katiba al-Bittar al-Libi
Commanders and leaders
Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (Ahmed a-Sharaa)
(Leader of the Al-Nusra Front)		 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
(Leader of ISIL)
Omar al-Farouk al-Turki  †
(Top provincial ISIL commander) [1]
Casualties and losses
120 killed [3]

The Battle of Markada (also spelled "Markadah" or "Markadahin") [4] was a military confrontation between two jihadist groups, al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (ISIS), over the town of Markada in the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in March 2014 during the Syrian civil war. [3] The strategic importance of the town to the ISIS lay in its position on the group's weapons supply route from Iraq, the road linking Al-Hasakah with Deir ez-Zor and a hill that dominates the surrounding area. [5] On the ISIS side there were many Sunni Iranians, including Kurds, who played an important role in the battle. [6]

Contents

Battle

The battle started on 21 March 2014, [3] with fighting near Markada's grain silos that left 27 al-Nusra Front fighters dead and others missing. [7]

On the morning of 27 March, ISIS attacked the town, which was being held by the al-Nusra Front. ISIS began the assault with a heavy artillery bombardment and managed to force al-Nusra to withdraw to the town's hospital and the mountain overlooking Markada. [8]

Before dawn on 29 March, clashes erupted in the town [9] as ISIS attacked the hospital and al-Nusra positions in the mountain. [8] After heavy fighting that left 43 al-Nusra and 13 ISIS fighters dead, [7] ISIS took full control of the town [1] as al-Nusra forces retreated towards the town of al-Sour in the eastern rural area of Deir ez-Zor province. Many al-Nusra fighters were also captured. [10] Among those killed was also the top provincial ISIS commander, [1] Omar al-Farouk al-Turki. [8]

On 31 March, al-Nusra launched a counterattack in an attempt to recapture the town which failed. [7] By this time, the number of those killed since the start of the fighting had risen to 120. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ISIS seizes town from Nusra in Hassakeh province". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Nance (2016), pp. 54–55.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Syrian army retakes key post in regime bastion Latakia". Your Middle East. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Nance (2016), p. 55.
  5. ↑ "At least 52 dead fighters from the front and the victory of the Islamic State" . Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  6. ↑ A history of support for Kurdish extremists comes back to haunt Tehran
  7. 1 2 3 "Syria killed 30 Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant Brive-Hasakah" . Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Organization "Daash" controlled Mrkdh, and mourns his military commander in the Al-Hasakah". كلنا شركاء في الوطن. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "A bomb explosion in Deir al-Zour and clashes in Al-Hasakah" . Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "ISIS kills 35 fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra and Islamic battalions" . Retrieved 25 October 2014.

Bibliography

35°44′00″N40°46′00″E / 35.7333°N 40.7667°E / 35.7333; 40.7667

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.